Splinter
by NettieC
Summary: When an accident on a hiking trail leaves Harm with splinters in an inconvenient place, it's up to Mac to fix him up.


**Disclaimer: They are not mine.**

It shouldn't have been much of a drama, really, it shouldn't have been. He'd had splinters before; bigger ones, deeper ones and they'd never been an issue. And neither would this one be, except for its location and the person he was with.

-

**Flashback**

_"Harm, are you okay?" Mac asked more than concerned as she caught up with Harm who had tripped on an all but hidden rock on the path, tumbled off the edge and slid on his butt about twenty feet over less than forgiving terrain._

_"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, more embarrassed than hurt, until he went to stand and realised the branch he thought he'd landed on was actually embedded in his backside._

_"You sure?" she asked, offering him a hand and pulling him up to her._

_"I'm fine, Mac," he said more firmly, as he tried to remove all evidence of the fall._

_Turning him around on the spot, Mac investigated his body for signs of injury and it didn't take her long to find the bloody patch on the seat of his pants._

_"You're bleeding," she informed him._

_"It's okay," he said, trying to swipe away her hand._

_"We need to clean it and make sure there's nothing in there," she said, grabbing the first aid kit from the rucksack._

_"Mac, I said I'm fine, let's keep walking," he said, moving ahead of her._

_Watching him limp away, Mac shook her head; god, the man was stubborn._

_-_

Back at the cabin they had rented for the weekend, Harm went to the bathroom, removed his pants and boxers and gently washed the injured area. Using a small hand held mirror, he investigated the wound and grimaced when he saw the large grazed area across his left buttock and the wooden fragments which were still embedded.

Searching through Mac's toiletries bag, he found her tweezers and managed to remove most of the foreign bodies but he knew there was still something in there.

Deciding it could wait, he washed the area once more with antiseptic, dressed in fresh clothes, cleaned the tweezers and made his way back out to Mac who was in the small kitchen organising their dinner.

"You're still limping," she observed as he came to stand next to her.

"Yeah, leg's a bit sore," he admitted. "Guess I landed harder than I thought."

"You didn't land, you slid," she reminded him.

"Well, I slid harder," he amended, leaning against the counter.

"What's the damage?" she asked, gesturing in the vicinity of his butt.

"Not much," he replied. "Nothing antiseptic won't fix."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Positive," he said. "Now, what can I help you with?"

-

Over the next half hour the conversation was casual and friendly as they prepared their meal. Harm was more than happy Mac had agreed to this weekend away. They had been socialising a lot more over recent months and though they had shared a few goodnight kisses, nothing more had eventuated. In his planning for this weekend he had let himself consider the prospect that perhaps forty eight hours communing with Mother Nature, would see them doing some 'communing' of their own.

Laying the fixings on the table for their burger and salad dinner, beef for her, vegie for him, Harm moved to the fridge to retrieve the dressings and the pitcher of water.

"What?" he asked when he realised Mac was staring at him.

"You're bleeding again," she observed."Are you sure there's nothing in there?"

"It's nothing," he said, dropping his head to avoid eye contact. "Just a scratch."

"Harm, look at me," she said, padding over and waiting until he did. "Let me check it out. You don't want it getting infected."

"Mac, I appreciate your concern," he started, grabbing the glasses. "Dinner is ready now so it's best we eat but I promise you if it's still a problem later you can check, okay?"

For a few moments she looked at him.

"Okay?" he repeated.

"Is this because it's your butt?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," he answered quickly and defensively.

"Because if it is, you don't need to be embarrassed," she reassured him, placing his plate on the table.

"I'm not," he retorted, but the glimmer in his eyes told he was lying.

"Okay, we'll eat and then I'll check it out," she said, sitting down and waiting for him to do the same.

The moment Harm's butt made contact with the wooden chair pain flickered across his face and he stood immediately. Knowing she wasn't going to get the truth just yet, Mac went and grabbed a cushion from the sofa and placed it on his chair.

"This should make it better," she said, before returning to her seat.

"Thanks, Mac," he replied gratefully as he sat down gingerly once more.

-

Dinner was simple and delicious and when they were finished Mac realised the fading summer light and the low wattage cabin light globes would make investigating Harm's wound difficult if they waited any longer. Returning from the bathroom, Mac brought the first aid kit and tweezers with her, before padding over to the fridge and retrieving some ice cubes from the freezer and fashioning an ice pack.

Harm had spent the time standing on the porch watching the setting sun and was surprised when he went inside to retrieve his camera to see Mac standing there with her supplies.

"Where do you want to do this, on the sofa or the bed?" she asked, holding up her provisions.

"Mac, I..." he began but she cut him off.

"The sofa and bed are your only choices. This is happening with or without your cooperation," she stated firmly.

Harm tried to think of a witty comeback about how she expected to do it without his cooperation but decided with her marine training she could easily disable him if she attacked without notice.

"Bed might be easier," he replied with a sigh, realising the inevitable was going to happen.

"Then in you go and take off those pants," she ordered, following behind him.

Stepping out of his sweat pants, Harm took his time to fold the garment carefully before placing them on the dresser. Laying face down on the right side of the bed, Harm eased the left side of his boxers down.

"God, Harm, I thought you said it was nothing," Mac said, drawing up a chair and sitting beside him.

"It's minor," he said, not looking at her. "Can we just get on with it?"

"You're a bit anxious there, Harm. Are you sure you're not embarrassed?" she asked as she eased his boxers down a little more.

As she did, Harm grabbed the right side firmly. "Think they're down enough."

Chuckling to herself, Mac retrieved the tweezers and gently placed one hand on his butt cheek causing Harm to shudder at the contact.

"Sorry, did I hurt you?" she asked, retracting her hand.

"No, no, it's okay," he replied, it definitely wasn't a feeling of hurt he was experiencing. Of all the times he had imagined Mac's hands on his butt, and there had been too many times to count, not once was she holding a stainless steel implement.

"This might hurt a little," she said, biting down on her own lip as she felt the pain she was inflicting on him.

-

Ten minutes of digging and pulling resulted in three splinters of varying sizes laying on the Kleenex resting on Mac's knee. Using her fingers across the area, Mac reassured herself that she had gotten everything, before cleaning the area in antiseptic. Fishing through the first aid kit, she retrieved a large dressing and placed it over the area before taping it in place. When that was done, Mac placed the ice pack over the area and used her hand to hold it.

"I think I've gotten them all," she said, "Want to see?" she asked, offering the Kleenex to him.

"No," he replied into his pillow.

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" she asked, moving her hand to rub him back.

"No," he replied. "Thanks," he added but she could tell he was still uncomfortable about the whole thing.

Part of her thought it was cute that her tough Naval Commander was embarrassed about her seeing his butt. However, the other part of her wondered why he would be embarrassed when she knew he wanted to take their relationship further which would undoubtedly mean her seeing much more of him than just his butt.

Returning from the bathroom, having put everything away, Mac was pleased to find Harm still in the same place, the ice pack still in place.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked, sitting back in the chair and rubbing his back once more.

"No, I'm good," he replied, tugging at his boxers.

-

As he did, Mac caught sight of a red mark on his right hip. Thinking he may have another injury, Mac moved to edge down his boxers while Harm, when he realised what was happening, tried to prevent it from happening.

"Let me see," Mac said firmly, winning their tug of war due to his position on the bed.

"Oh my god!" she gasped, seeing the marine green rose tattooed on his hip with the initials SM scrolled into the leaf.

"Mac, don't!" he said simultaneously but it was too late she'd uncovered his secret.

"When?" she muttered, as Harm removed the ice pack and tried to sit up.

"A couple of years ago," he replied, trying to avoid her questioning eyes.

"The 'SM' that is me, isn't it?" she asked, needing to be sure.

"Of course," he replied somewhat indignant that she'd think it could be anyone else.

"And the rose because of the Rose Garden, where we met?" she probed, staring at him.

"Yes," he replied, standing up.

"And the colour because I'm a marine?" she continued, blocking his path.

"Why else?" he said, feeling sick that she'd uncovered his secret. It may have been a tattoo on his butt but right now it felt like his heart on his sleeve. If she didn't feel the same, his permanent reminder of her would be a lifelong pain.

"Hey, hey?" she said, resting her hands on his chest. "I'm not the enemy here," she reminded him gently.

"Sorry," he mumbled, still trying to get by her.

"Want to see mine?" she asked, and grinned as he finally looked up at her, eyes wide open.

"Well, I guess turnabout is fairplay," he said, his mood improving dramatically.

-

Hitching her shirt up a little, Mac pulled down the band of her sweat pants to reveal a blue rose on her hip. She smiled as she watched Harm grinning at the tattoo.

"Yes," she answered for him, before he'd asked the questions. "Rose for the Rose Garden, blue for you. Sorry, I didn't get your initials though."

"When?" he asked, his eyes finally moving up to hers.

"When did you get yours?" she countered.

"Maybe that detail can wait for another time," he conceded.

"Maybe it can," she agreed as his eyes flittered between hers and her mouth.

In the longest few moments of her life, Mac waited for Harm's lips to finally claim hers and when they did she felt herself melt into his body. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Mac pulled herself flush against him in an endeavour to feel as much of him as she could. In her enthusiasm for the contact, she pushed him back onto the bed and he immediately jumped at the pain it caused.

"Sorry, sorry," she muttered, grabbing his hand and pulling him back up. "You okay?"

"More than," he replied, spinning them around so Mac's back was to the bed. "But you know what this means?" he asked, trailing kisses from her forehead to her collarbone.

"No, what?" she asked, as she pulled his face back to hers so she could kiss him again.

"I get to be on top this time," he said, grinning.

Grabbing his shirt, Mac fell back on the bed and pulled him with her. "Oh well, if you insist!"

**Thanks for reading!**


End file.
